By Luke McGinnis
Cardiff opened the scoring in a back-and-forth first period through Cole Sanford, who carried the puck behind the Stars’ net and bounced a shot off the back of Emil Kruse at 15:26.
Ryan Barrow doubled the home side’s lead just over two minutes later at 17:29, redirecting a pass from Kristoff Kontos in close past Kruse.
Tensions began to rise late in the period after Bradley Schoonbaert delivered a big hit on Connor Caponi, setting the scene for a feisty second frame.
Despite Kruse making a strong save on Evan Mosey off the rush, the puck fell perfectly to Brett Perlini, who fired it home for the lone goal of the second period to make it 3-0 at 24:22.
A scoreless third period saw chances at both ends of the ice, including two powerplay opportunities for the Stars and a number of high-danger chances from Cardiff that put Kruse to the test.
Despite this, the score remained 3-0 as the final buzzer sounded, with the Devils skating away with two points.
